The Ohio State offense suffered from a slow start – likely exacerbated by Michigan’s defensive strategy. But the Buckeye staff adjusted – first to the Wolverine scheme, and then to re-work the offense once Dwayne Haskins entered for J.T. Barrett – to generate a 31-20 victory.

Rather than play his base cover 1 defense, Wolverine defensive coordinator Don Brown often called trap cover 2 on first down. In essence, trap 2 is a hybrid of cover 2 and 4.

Generally to the multiple wide receiver side, the Michigan cornerback and safety read the number 2 (inside) receiver, with the corner jumping any outside routes and the safety over the top. This allowed the corner to set the edge and the safety to read downhill against Ohio State’s outside runs.

Ohio State’s early game plan copied much of what Penn State used successfully against the Wolverines’ cover 1 scheme. The Buckeyes repeatedly placed Paris Campbell in motion – in the hope of pulling Michigan man defenders out of position – to run power read (with center Billy Price pulling) or other outside runs. But the Wolverines’ use of trap 2 limited those plays, as the coverage required little adjustment to the H motion and allowed the corner to trap the sweep action.

Michigan’s mix of cover 1 and cover 2 variations also appeared to cause confusion for Barrett in the passing game. With the offense frequently behind schedule – and perhaps exacerbated by his knee injury – Barrett was hesitant to throw into tight windows.

Ohio State also had several drops, and had varying success handling Michigan’s third down stunts and blitzes. Right guard Demetrius Knox in particular had a difficult matchup pass blocking Michigan nose tackle Maurice Hurst.

It took offensive coordinator Kevin Wilson and the Ohio State staff several series to adjust. But the Buckeyes were eventually able to sufficiently combat trap 2, largely with Barrett’s legs.

Ohio State ran q-counter trey to the boundary away from the multiple wide receiver side – and Michigan’s corner force support.